Uganda is intensifying efforts to ensure its nationals residing and working in Kenya have their stay properly documented, while also urging them to keep their papers in order and channel investments back home.
The appeal was made in Nairobi by officials from the Uganda High Commission and the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) during the Diaspora Business Forum organised by the High Commission together with NSSF Uganda.
The forum aimed to deepen the connection between Ugandans in Kenya and economic opportunities available in Uganda.
The move comes at a time when Kenya is tightening enforcement on foreign nationals, following President William Ruto’s directive aimed at foreigners operating small-scale businesses.
The government has since provided a registration period for East Africans without documents and has issued a 90-day deadline for foreign business owners to regularise their immigration status, work permits, business registrations and licensing.
These measures have made proper identification and documentation more critical for Ugandans living in Kenya, especially for those who want to work, run businesses, access financial services or invest in both countries.
NIRA Registrar Claire Olama noted that having a national identification number or ID card is vital for Ugandans who wish to access services and take part in investment and business activities in Kenya and in Uganda.
Over 5,000 Ugandans have already obtained identification services via the High Commission.
Alongside this, Uganda is looking to tap into its diaspora community in Kenya as a source of savings and investment, with NSSF Uganda bringing its voluntary savings products to workers living abroad.
“Both our people, Kenyans living in Uganda and Ugandans living in Kenya, have made this home. And they have aspirations that one day, they will work here and can go back home,” said NSSF Uganda Managing Director Patrick Ayota.
NSSF Uganda rolled out voluntary savings following amendments to the law in 2022, which came into force in November 2024.
The scheme enables individuals without employers in Uganda to contribute to the fund and has so far drawn around 150,000 new accounts, with contributors having saved nearly Sh200 million since its launch.
“We expect to see, over time, a growth in people willing to take advantage of that and save more,” he said.
The fund is also broadening its investment portfolio through regional pension collaboration, with eight institutions having joined the Africa Pension Fund initiative, which aims to use pension assets to mobilise more capital, including for real estate projects.
A major development for workers moving across the region is the reciprocal agreement between NSSF Uganda and NSSF Kenya, which permits members who relocate between the two nations to transfer their accumulated pension savings.
“Somebody is working in Uganda, and they have saved with NSSF Uganda, and they are coming back to NSSF Kenya; they can actually ask us to send their money, those balances, back to NSSF Kenya,” said Ayota.
The agreement could help tackle the increasing problem of scattered retirement savings as workers move within East African economies.
It offers mobile workers an opportunity to preserve their pension records and keep building their retirement savings rather than leaving funds in separate schemes.
For Uganda, the diaspora plan extends beyond pensions, with the High Commission also working to link citizens in Kenya to prospects in housing, investment and other initiatives that can help convert earnings abroad into long-term wealth creation back home.
